Lake Lewis

Name: Mysteries of the Channeled Scablands and the two Detectives who Solved it.
Start: 2026-09-01T19:00:00-07:00
End: 2026-09-01T20:00:00-07:00
Location: Richland Library

May 2025
2025 IAFI Membership Meeting – Gorge-ous Gathering May2-3-4

May 2, 2025 - May 4, 2025

Columbia Gorge Discovery Center 5000 Discovery Dr., The Dalles, OR, United States

Celebrating Ice Age Floods Institute's 30th Anniversary The annual IAFI Membership Meeting is coming to the Columbia Gorge this May 2-3, 2025, and all our members and their guests are cordially invited to come experience some of the best and most interesting features the Gorge has to offer. There’ll be opportunities to explore storied Gorge wildflowers and native plants, geology and winery field trips, whitewater rafting, a membership meeting/dinner and a presentation by the ever-entertaining Nick Zenter. Friday, May 2nd, will be action packed with activities during the day. Choose between a guided Spring Wildflower Walk, a Journey Through Terroir field trip, an Unveiling the Gorge field trip (repeated on Sunday, May 4). There are also opportunities available every day for full-day or half-day adventure whitewater raft trips on the Klickitat or White Salmon Rivers with Wet Planet Rafting, a local world-class rafting company. Friday evening will feature our members meeting and dinner, followed by an entertaining and informative presentation by the inimitable Nick Zenter exploring and geolocating J Harlan Bretz’s field notes. Jim O'Connor Richard Waitt Saturday, May 3rd, will feature the main Ice Age Floods Gorge Geology Field Trip – Explore evidence of the Ice Age Floods in the Columbia Gorge led by USGS expert geologists Jim O’Connor and Richard Waitt. This field trip will examine the geology of the Columbia River Gorge with emphasis on the effects of the Ice Age Missoula floods, examining key sites and discussing the latest research. Learn more about the Missoula Floods, explore dramatic flood landforms, and enjoy beautiful vistas, lunch at the Deschutes River Park (order a box lunch or bring your own), and a no-host afternoon recap at Maryhill Winery. Check-in begins each day at 8:00 AM at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center Find more detailed information here There is also plenty to see and do in the Gorge to keep you fascinated and engaged if you can stay another day. Visit iconic Multnomah Falls (I-84 access only) and spectacular Vista House at Crown Point overlook. Visit Timberline Lodge, a stunning 1930’s CCC project, on the snowy upper flanks of Mt. Hood. Travel the Hood River Fruit Loop or ride the Mt Hood Railroad Hike one (or more) of the innumerable and spectacular Gorge hiking trails Take Windsurfing and Kiteboarding lessons or just watch the action Enjoy fine dining, artisan wineries, breweries, museums and shops throughout the Gorge. There’s so much more to see and do that we can’t even begin to list it all.
November 2025
EVOLUTION OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER SYSTEM

November 4, 2025 @ 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm PST

The Reach Museum 1943 Columbia Park Trl , WA, Richland, WA, United States

We have always assumed that the Columbia River and its tributaries have been the same for many millions of years. The Earth is constantly fooling us like that. In reality most river systems are dynamic, and the Columbia River is no exception. We will explore how it has changed over the past 16 million years. We’ll see how in earlier times locations such as like Yakima, Prosser and Benton City would have been on the Columbia River, while the Tri-Cities would have been left high and dry. The Columbia River system is one of the great river systems of North America, draining much of the Pacific Northwest, as well as parts of the western United States and British Columbia. The river system has had a long and complex history, slowly evolving over the past 17MY The Columbia River and its tributaries have been shaped by flood basalt volcanism, Cascade volcanism, regional tectonism, and finally outburst floods from Glacial Lake Missoula. The most complex part of river development has been in the northern part, the Columbia Basin, where the Columbia River and its tributaries were controlled by a subsiding Columbia Basin with subtle anticlinal ridges and synclinal valleys superimposed on a flood basalt landscape. After negotiating this landscape, the course to the Pacific Ocean led through the Cascade Range via the Columbia Trans-Arc Lowland, an ancient crustal weakness zone that separates Washington and Oregon. The peak of flood basalt volcanism obliterated the river paths, but as flood basalt volcanism waned, the rivers were able to establish courses within the growing fold belt. As the folds grew larger, the major pathways of the rivers moved toward the center of the Columbia Basin where subsidence was greatest. The finishing touches to the river system, however, were added during the Pleistocene by the Missoula floods, which caused local repositioning of river channels.
January 2026
An Introduction to the Missoula Floods

January 6 @ 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm PST

Zoom Meeting

Dr. Gary Ford, president of the Ice Age Floods Institute, will provide an introductory presentation of the Missoula Floods and reveal ho repeated, cataclysmic floods during the last Ice Age carved a dramatic landscape through much of the Pacific Northwest. Event: IAFI Lake Lewis January Member Meeting and Guest Lecture “An Introduction to the Missoula Floods” By Gary Ford Date: January 6, 2026 Time: Members Meeting: 6:30PM-7:00PM, Lecture: 7:00PM - 8:00PM (PST) Join Zoom Meeting https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87852702318?pwd=Ye0a71u5MbQUtry9qp6u2qSw79dqIa.1 Meeting ID: 878 5270 2318 Passcode: 634508
March 2026
The Missoula Floods and the SVRP Aquifer

March 3 @ 6:45 pm - 8:00 pm PST

Zoom Meeting

The Lake Lewis chapter of the Ice Age Floods Institute will host a free Zoom lecture on March 3rd exploring the dramatic creation of the Spokane Valley - Rathdrum Prairie (SVRP) Aquifer!
Geology of the Tri-Cities Field Trip

March 28 @ 9:00 am - 4:00 pm PDT

Richland Community Center 500 Amon Park Dr, Richland, WA, United States

The Lake Lewis Chapter of the Ice Age Floods Institute is sponsoring an informal (carpool) field trip focus on the geology in and around Richland, Washington
September 2026
Mysteries of the Channeled Scablands and the two Detectives who Solved it.

September 1 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm PDT

Richland Library 955 Northgate Dr., Richland, Washington

Giant Pothole near Washtucna, WA Over 100 years ago, scientists discovered the unique landscape of the Channeled Scablands of Washington. By studying clues in Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon, two of them pieced together the evidence that led to their conclusion which was scoffed at by many of their colleagues. After more than 20 years of field study and overwhelming evidence, most of the scientific community finally agreed with them. See how today, new detectives are in the field with new technologies to unravel more of the mysteries of the Channeled Scablands. Lloyd Stoess, President of the Palouse Fall Chapter of the IAFI, will show pictures and explain the evidence of the enormous Missoula Floods that carved our landscape.

Free

Lake Lewis

May 2025

2025 IAFI Membership Meeting – Gorge-ous Gathering May2-3-4

November 2025

EVOLUTION OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER SYSTEM

January 2026

An Introduction to the Missoula Floods

March 2026

The Missoula Floods and the SVRP Aquifer

Geology of the Tri-Cities Field Trip

September 2026

Mysteries of the Channeled Scablands and the two Detectives who Solved it.

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